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Ex-Soundgarden and Monster Magnet members flaunt their love of garage rock.

I don’t say so, of course, but immediately upon arriving for my interview with the Wellwater Conspiracy at Space Studios I’m overcome with jealousy. The studio is minutes from downtown but so inconspicuous that it feels like a secret hideaway. I’m greeted at the door by Chuck, a big friendly dog, and led into a room with a drum kit, a mess of keyboards (not fancy new ones but cool, well-worn vintage types), and a few guitars. There’s a cozy corner for lounging, with a view of Lake Union. This is the kind of place I should be spending all my afternoons, I think. If only my parents had let me have those drums instead of that damn trumpet when I was 10, maybe I would be.

Wellwater Conspiracy is a mini-supergroup, its founding members brethren of two of the best known hard-rock and grunge bands of the 1990s.

But don’t expect a leaden, guttural rock sound from this Seattle band featuring former Soundgarden — and current Pearl Jam — drummer Matt Cameron and ex-Monster Magnet guitarist John McBain. (Glenn Slater of the Walkabouts is also part of the Conspiracy). Instead, Wellwater Conspiracy has built a cult-like following with a sound that bridges psychedelic and classic rock with punches of pop.

Pearl Jam drummer Matt Cameron and former Monster Magnet guitarist John McBain have cranked out four records in the six years they’ve been playing together as the Wellwater Conspiracy. And yet despite all that work, the band has always sounded like a fun side project.

While you may not be familiar with the The Wellwater Conspiracy, chances are you’ve heard of the two principals that hold the group together. John McBain was the guitarist in Monster Magnet until 1993 and Matt Cameron has been the drummer for a couple of bands you may know, Soundgarden, and now, Pearl Jam.

Earlier this year, I received an email from John McBain, original guitarist for Monster Magnet. Almost immediately, I took it upon myself to ask him if he would mind answering a “few” questions. This turned into a several weeks of exchanges, which I’ve collected and re-organized to flow somewhat naturally. I would like to thank him for taking the time to answer these questions. Hopefully, this will provide some insight into the early days of Monster Magnet.

On the new Pearl Jam DVD, Touring Band 2000, viewers are treated to a camera angle the band calls the “Matt-cam” since it shows the view from Drummer Matt Cameron’s stool. But if there is ever a DVD for Wellwater Conspiracy – Cameron’s other band, with guitarist John McBain – it would have to include multiple camera shots: in Wellwater, Cameron plays drums and guitar, and sings.

Matt Cameron has been the drummer in two bands you may have heard of: Pearl Jam and Soundgarden. He toured the world with the latter for nearly 10 years. Then, when Soundgarden split up, he joined Pearl Jam, and started touring the world all over again.

Unless you’re a real music aficionado, you may not have heard of his third band: Wellwater Conspiracy. Though this is a flying-under-the-radar project, Cameron is pretty excited about it. … Well, as excited as you can be when you have that been-platinum, done-“Saturday Night Live” thing going.

There’s something in the Well Water at Space Studios in Seattle and Matt Cameron is drinking it down in quenching 24-Track gulps. After reaching platinum success with Grammy Award winning Soundgarden and filling the riser for grunge legend Pearl Jam, Cameron embarked on a journey of Retro-Rock and self expression by forming Wellwater Conspiracy with Ex-Monster Magnet John McBain.

Somewhere, Colonel Sanders is resting uncomfortably in his grave. In what used to be a Kentucky Fried Chicken franchise in Seattle, former Soundgarden drummer Matt Cameron and Monster Magnet founding member John Paul McBain have found a home for their band Wellwater Conspiracy– turning the chicken shack into a studio with all the trappings of a musical bomb shelter. The deep-fried guitar riffs being concocted today are a far cry from the offerings formerly doled out of the building. On Wellwater’s The Scroll and it’s Combinations (TVT) the duo rip through a myriad of influences including the Music Machine, Gary Neuman, the Yardbirds, ’60s Dutch underground and early Black Flag. “Basically, there’s nothing original about our music,” says Cameron with a laugh. “It’s all been done before.”

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Wellwater Conspiracy was an American rock band that formed in Seattle, Washington in 1993. The band was created by members of the grunge-era side project Hater. Wellwater Conspiracy featured Pearl Jam/Soundgarden drummer Matt Cameron and ex-Monster Magnet guitarist John McBain. The band originally featured Soundgarden bassist Ben Shepherd, who left the band in 1998.